To Battle We Go: Eyes and Ears on the Leader
The Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, are famous for close formation flying and hair-raising acrobatics, their planes coming as close as a mere 18 inches apart while flying near the speed of sound. Though there are six fighter jets in the squadron, the four-plane “Diamond Formation” is the heart of the Blue Angels show and where the most precise and tightly packed flying takes place.
With that in mind, you might be shocked to learn, as I was, that only the flight leader piloting the lead aircraft is actually looking ahead to where the formation is going. The other three pilots in the wing and tail planes are all looking at a different spot on the leader’s plane for the entirety of the nearly one-hour performance. They literally don’t know where they are or where they are going but must trust the leader completely to guide them safely.
Also guiding the other pilots is the voice of the flight leader in their radio headsets, narrating each maneuver of the performance. This is recited in a calm, almost musical way, with exactly the same tempo and inflection each time, which calms the pilots’ nerves and gives them confidence.
These pilots train together for months, learning the flight maneuvers at high altitude and with the planes well apart from each other. Gradually, they lower the altitude and reduce the distance between their planes until they are performance ready. They also practice away from the airplanes, gathering in a darkened room with eyes closed and gripping an imaginary stick, while the flight leader recites the narrative, a kind of pilot’s prayer meeting.
The applications to our spiritual lives are many and obvious, but I’ll mention just a few. First, if we want to get closer to Jesus, we have to give up looking out the front window of our life’s airplane in the vain attempt to control our flight destination. We must instead fix our eyes on Jesus and let Him do the navigating. Those of us of a certain age know that this really isn’t giving up much, as we have seen our best laid plans go awry many times over. It’s good to have a plan in life, but we can bank (pardon the flying pun!) on the Lord taking us in directions we never imagined, always much to our benefit.
Second, the Holy Spirit is ready to narrate our lives with His calm and soothing voice in our spiritual headsets, but only if we’re listening to Him. There are many louder voices in our world that will do anything but calm our nerves and give us confidence. But the Lord’s sheep know His voice, so we will know when He’s the one doing the talking.
Finally, this way of living, as with precision flying, takes practice, meaning daily communion with Jesus, learning gradually how to fly close to Him. And it helps to regularly get into a dark room, alone or with other believers, with eyes closed in prayer, and have undistracted time with Him. So, ladies and gentlemen, fix your eyes on Jesus, listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, pray, and sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight!